CH 71

“Yes… I don’t know what you want to say to me…”

“I just asked if you had a good time with the Marchioness.”

Her existence was both a salvation and a curse to Damon. It was so cruel to send what one wanted most to those who gave up everything. Damon Raphael could never refuse Elysia Caitlyn.

He knew over and over again that in order to keep her by his side, he had to keep himself from showing his true face. However, he was in trouble every time because of the monster inside that popped out whenever he was careless.

His desire not to lose Elysia often made things go awry.

“Elysia.”

“Yes.”

“I said I just asked.”

It seemed that if he were a little careless, he would find himself chewing on her without leaving a single piece of bone behind.

* * *

‘I said I just asked.’

Elysia couldn’t answer anything. It was he who first brought her to talk about Estelle. Even so, he didn’t want to dig up… this could be a warning that she should not approach further.

“Yes.”

Did he just bring her here to talk about that?

Elysia felt a little empty when she thought that she had been trembling all the way here. She didn’t know if Damon was aware of the conversation she had had with Estelle. It was too soon to say he knew. Apparently, she confirmed that Estelle had returned right away.

Then was it delivered in such a short time? Besides, Estelle was not such a light-mouthed person. But from Damon’s attitude, he knew something. It wasn’t the actions of someone who didn’t know.

What was certain was that if he knew the truth about her, he wouldn’t have left her alone now? So Elysia could be sure. First of all, Damon didn’t know exactly what Estelle and her conversation were about.

This was a kind of warning to her, a place to test her.

“You must be wondering why I called the wife.”

Elysia just nodded quietly.

She wasn’t stupid enough to provoke him here. Damon Raphael was a ticking time bomb. She always had to risk her life to talk to him.

“It’s because of brother’s letter.”

Her fingertips trembled when she heard that it was because of Edward’s letter. It would have been better for her to have her conversation with Estelle uncovered. Which one was better, Elysia couldn’t say. She wondered why he had to call her to the office and talk separately.

“A letter from brother?”

“Yes.”

Elysia hadn’t read Edward’s letter yet. If she had known this, she would have read the letter upon receiving it. She had forgotten that hesitating in front of Damon was a luxury.

“If it’s the letter, I got it through Julia.”

She tried to talk to him about that, but she was frustrated because she didn’t know the contents of the letter. Why didn’t she read it? If she had at least known the contents, she wouldn’t have been so anxious.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding, so I called you into the office.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Even if there was a misunderstanding, Elysia couldn’t argue with it. Her current position was that she had to be swallowed up inside, even if there were unreasonable things.

“I didn’t hide the wife’s letter.”

“I know.”

“As you know, Grand Duchy Raphael has many enemies.”

The only Grand Duchy in the empire. This fact alone earned everyone’s envy and jealousy at the same time. If the Grand Duchy had no absolute strength, they would have been the target of everyone’s attacks.

“Since the Grand Duchy has a new Grand Duchess, it is only natural that dirty things will be entangled.”

Elysia had recently entered a noble society. It was, of course, something she hadn’t thought of. She knew that as she became the Grand Duchess, she would get everyone’s attention though she didn’t know that they would send her a message right away.

“Since the day of the wedding, the wife has been bombarded with gifts and letters.”

“From the day?”

Elysia was surprised.

At the time, she hadn’t even signed the wedding vows yet. That said, she was not an official grand duchess. Though from that day on, gifts and letters poured in?

“Of course, all gifts and letters should be received by the wife. But the Grand Duchy has many enemies, so I can’t.”

“Then… Are you saying that Your Grace is in charge of everything that comes my way?”

“For now, Ethan and I are checking everything.”

For that reason, she couldn’t say anything. It was better than having him not check, and then something happened.

“We have also identified a number of potential threats.”

“Really?”

At that, her eyes shook violently. Elysia was shocked that there were more people besides Damon who wanted her dead. Why didn’t she know? The position that everyone wanted would have many enemies.

She no longer had the confidence to survive safely. It was not just Damon, there were a lot of people who were aiming for her…

“Everything was taken care of, so you don’t have to worry.”

Even though he told her not to worry, that couldn’t be it. Even if she did, miraculously, divorce him, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t be targeted. There was the Empress and Lady Armando… Elysia could tell just by looking at these two.

They both wanted Damon.

Even when the Empress got married, she did not give up on Damon.

Would they really leave her alone? If she divorced Damon, she would be out of his care. Without Damon’s powers, she was sure to be a target. She hadn’t yet met the Empress, but she had an uneasy feeling.

And, Elysia’s senses were usually correct…

“….”

“Elysia?”

“Ah, yes!”

Then, she forgot that Damon was in front of her and was lost in thoughts. What if the position of the Imperial Family on the wedding day was the position of the empress? It was highly likely. Anyway, she will be a thorn in the eye for both of them.

“That’s why I couldn’t deliver the letter right away.”

“Yes…”

If she had opened those dangerous things herself… She didn’t even want to imagine. It must have been full of all sorts of dangerous things, be it magic or poison. Damon, who had already been married once, couldn’t do it twice.

Everyone wanted her place. Besides, Elysia had no backing to protect her. She was an easy target to kill.

“Even if the sender is brother, a verification process was necessary.”

“Yes, I understand…”

Her voice couldn’t come out properly, as if her throat had been choked.

Not only that, but her whole body started to tremble. It was scary. For those seeking her place as Grand Duchess, Elysia was a really good opponent. There was nothing much to kill her.

“Well, then… there is nothing wrong with what I received, right?”

Now, she was glad she hadn’t opened the letter.

Now that she had heard this, she didn’t know if she could open the letter. She was far from such dark struggles all her life. There was no way anyone would pursue the Count’s illegitimate daughter, who was treated as a maid.

She lived a fairly peaceful life, except that sometimes she was abused by the Countess.

“No.”

Elysia was still terrified. She couldn’t even comfortably receive Edward’s letters anymore…

“I feel like I’ve been misunderstood by the wife, so I wanted to tell you.”

“I see what you mean… Maybe, in the future…could Your Grace take care of it?”

She was originally angry with Damon for limiting her contact. But now, she really wanted him to take care of it. Elysia knew he would never die. In the original story, there were all sorts of tricks used to kill him, including murder and poison, but Damon didn’t die.

“It will be difficult for me to keep taking care of it.”

She had just become the Grand Duchess now, and it would be troubling if she died right away. But Damon was never one to keep doing bothersome things.

“Will it… be difficult?”

Life in the Grand Duchy seemed to be like walking on thin ice. She didn’t want to live with such a threat. It was hopeless that there were not just one or two things to be careful of.

“Wasn’t that what the wife wanted to manage?”

“No, no!”

Lest he was about to change his mind, Elysia shook her head violently. She would rather he caught everything. She didn’t want her life to be in danger. She realized that she couldn’t hide what she wanted to hide anyway.

In that case, it was best to be safe.

“I think that would be difficult.”

Although she thought he would, of course, Elysia’s eyes widened when he said no. Soon, she was weeping with anxiety. She knew that the man in front of her was the most dangerous.

Still, she also knew that if it weren’t for him, there would be no one to rescue her.

“But, it seems like you might be able to do it if you wanted to.”

Ironically, she had to beg to be protected by the other person who was trying to kill her.

It sounds like she might be able to. It was an ambiguous answer. Elysia wasn’t sure if he was sure or not. Damon just looked at her with a relaxed expression. It was a look that showed an obvious hierarchical relationship.

Each time she was anxious and afraid of him, he looked extremely unconcerned and easy-going.

“Will… will you take care of it?”

She wondered why she always stuttered like an idiot when in front of him or her voice didn’t come out well. Even now, as if her throat had been choked, words could not come out properly. She was able to speak only after gulping several times.

“If you want me to.”

Unlike her, who was late because of the stutter, Damon was laid-back. He never shouted in a hurry. He probably won’t have such an experience in his entire life.

It was the composure of a predator flowing from deep within his bones.

“It will make the wife a little uncomfortable, will it be okay?”